So I have been thinking lately.
“A dangerous past time, I know.”
But, I just can’t help myself.
I’ve been dreaming and scheming and thinking of how I could make some really wonderful dinner rolls,
without taking up 3 hours of time. Yes, I know. An extremely intellectual topic.
There are two roll recipes already on the site that are FABULOUS, if I do say so myself. If you are looking for some knock your socks off crescent rolls that will feed a crowd (the recipe makes 48) then try these
HOLIDAY CRESCENT ROLLS You’ll be the hit of the party with these beauties.
CRACKED WHEAT FEATHER ROLLS are also wonderful. The cracked wheat gives them a great texture. There is a tutorial included in this post on making the rolls into a beautiful rosette shape. They turn out beautiful and delicious. Again, another crowd pleaser.
But sometimes, I just want something a little bit faster that still tastes delightfully delicious. And so I have for you these Fluffy Dinner Rolls. The recipe makes one dozen, perfect for a week night dinner. They take just over an hour to make, most of that time being rising in your warm oven, and then baking. So the hands on time is pretty short. Woo Hoo! MyHandsomeHusband said they tasted just as good as my Holiday Crescent Rolls. Hot diggity dog. Put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
Fluffy Dinner Rolls
Time: about 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 12 rolls
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!
3/4 C milk
4 Tb butter
3/4 C hot water
4 Tb sugar
1 tsp salt
4 – 4 1/2 C flour
1 heaping Tb yeast (I use active dry)
1. Pour your milk into a microwave safe container. These Pyrex glass measuring cups work fabulously. Add your butter to the milk and put it in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. While the milk is getting nice and toasty, turn on the tap to get your hot water. Temperature is important to making these rolls rise quickly. If you add cold water, your rolls will are going to rise at a snails pace, and you’ll feel like cursing. We wouldn’t want that kind of thing going on….so please add hot water. I put my hand in the water to test it. You want it to be almost too hot to put your hand in.
3. Put your milk/butter and hot water in the bottom of your Kitchen Aid Mixer. Add the sugar and salt. Then add 2 C of the flour…let it mix for 1 minute.
4. Add the yeast. Turn the mixer on and add the rest of the flour 1 C at a time.
5. You have enough flour when the dough scrapes the side of the bowl clean. Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes. You need the plastic wrap to trap the heat.
7. Take a bit of butter and coat the inside of a 9×13 pan.
8. Spray your counter, or a cutting board with cooking spray. Lay your dough on top of it.
9. Take a sharp knife, spray it with cooking spray and cut your dough into 12 pieces. Make them as equal as you can….perfection is not necessary. What a relief.
10. Gently round them into balls, and put them in your buttered 9×13 pan.
11. Put the pan into your warm 170 degree oven. Let them rise for about 20 minutes or until they have risen an 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
12. Leave your pan in the oven and turn the heat up to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. The 15 minutes includes the time it takes the oven to increase in temperature. If your oven takes a long old time….you will of course need to increase the time baking. Bake until golden brown.
13. Brush with a little softened butter.
The last couple times I made these, the bottoms were a little doughy. I was expecting nice crisp bottoms. Other than that, they were fantastic! Any suggestions? I am using a white Pyrex 13×9 casserole dish.
I had the same problem so I just divide it into more than 12 rolls. I usually make about 18 per batch. I put the extra rolls in an 8×8 Pyrex dish. You may have to shorten the time by a couple minutes.
my son explained not to use glass baking dishes…something about the glass letting them bake faster on outside than in… he went to chef school.
Terri, your son is absolutely right. Dark metal pans are my choice for baking almost everytime.And cast iron? Well,anytime I can use one of those…
I have used clear pyrex dishes each time I make these (at least 10-15 now) and have not had a problem with them being doughy. As someone else suggested, try to give a little space around each roll and divide into two pans if necessary.
I know this message is late but if you make these rolls again and want a nice crisp bottom try baking them in a metal cake pan. I have two 9inch pans I only use for rolls and they come out perfect. Make sure to butter the pans.
I would suggest letting your dough rise longer as it seems they may be too dense on the bottom. what this does is activate the yeast in the flour to essentially eat the gluten, releasing tiny air bubbles. these keep you dough soft and fluffy. another issue may be you aren’t adding enough yeast to eat the gluten. These tips help me in any kind of breadmaking. Hope it helps you as well!
-Izzy
Move your rack one shelf lower in the oven. It works like a charm for me.
Just made these this morning for our thanksgiving table and they are so good!
Hi, if you could put a layer of baking parchment to the bottom of your dish, when cooked to your liking, turn them over and place back into the oven until the bottom is dry and nice and crisp 5-10 mins max
I’ve made these rolls twice already. This recipe is so easy to follow, and the dinner rolls are delicious! I love that I can make hot rolls for my family in the time it takes to cook dinner on a week night?
Annise,
So happy this recipe has been turning out well for you! It’s one of my favorites for sure. Thanks for letting me know.
Best,
~Jamie
Easy and delicious. You could not ask for more. I’ve made these several times, and they are a hit with my family each time. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can you put these in muffin tins Jamie I was thinking of trying them for dinner tonight I was also thinking of a no yeast dinner roll as well
Thank you
Made these tonight for dinner and they were delicious! Just wondering if anybody has ever made these then rewarmed them? I would love to make these to take to my in-laws for Easter but don’t want to have to time them so close that I have to pull them out of the oven and leave to go to their house. I would much rather bake them then rewarm them there if possible.
They can be rewarmed in the mic on low and they are fine
I am new to baking, so could you tell me what is T and, what is C ,in the ingredients list of this recipe
C is cup. Tb is tablespoon tsp is teaspoon
Just to further clarify, some people use T for Tablespoon and t for teaspoon in addition to the C for cup.
Roy,
T=Tablespoon
t=teaspoon
C=Cup
Just made these this afternoon and I have to say these were some of the best rolls I have ever made. And very easy to make. Thanks so much for posting the recipe.
Jamie, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! I have made the dinner rolls several times and they turn out perfect every time. My husband loves them and so do I!!! I like the fact that I can start mid afternoon and they are easily ready for the evening meal. They also freeze well and reheat nicely in the microwave! Great recipe!!! Thanks again!!
I’ve always been intimadated by yeast. However, I made these for Easter and the family loved them and they were oh so easy. Thank you!!!
Can I also use all purpose flour?
tried these rolls today….
easy peasy lemon squeezy…
Made these tonight for the first time and they were delicious! No one could stay out of them. I might add just a dash more salt next time
I don’t have a mixer with a dough hook. Will they still turn out? Do I just mix by hand?
170F? That seems low does it not?
Fabulous recipe. Thank you for sharing
I only have the packets of instant yeast & fast rise or rapid rise, or whatever. can I just use a Tablespoon from one of those packets?
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for your question. You can use the instant yeast, I would use just a tiny bit less than 1 Tb.
Best of luck!
~Jamie
I used this recipe for my “Little Red Hen” lesson and my entire preschool class got to help me make the bread! We put each “loaf” in mini loaf pans after the children shaped them and it was a delight for them to take home a treat they baked! I wish you could see the pictures! They were hilariously awesome but all turned out great!
Hi there! Can’t wait to give this recipe a go.. can you tell me if they freeze well?
Hi Jamie!
I wanted to make these for Thanksgiving, but wanted to do it a day ahead because I won’t have time the day of. Can I refrigerate them and make the next day? After which step do I put in the fridge, for up to how long can I keep in fridge, and how long do I keep at room temp before putting in the oven the next day? Thanks for your input!!
Hi Ashley,
Thanks for your question. This recipe isn’t designed to keep in the fridge. Your dough will continue to rise, leaving you with a big mess. I do, however have a frozen roll dough recipe that I would recommend to you. It really helps save time the day of. Here it is…
https://jamiecooksitup.net/2011/11/butterflake-frozen-roll-dough/
Best of luck to you!
~Jamie
I just made these and put them in the oven. My yeast never completely resolved and we’re still in my dough. Is this a problem. I’ve never used a recipes that didn’t call to desolve the yeast. Thanks ?
I have been trying to learn how to make bread with poor results for a long time now. I found this recipe on Thanksgiving Day and tried it as my final attempt at having decent Thanksgiving rolls. They were AMAZING. The pictures help a lot especially for someone like me who never even touched yeast until two years ago. They came out perfectly. Thanksgiving was a week ago and my husband just asked today if we could have rolls with dinner tonight “using that good recipe you found.”
I have never been great with cooking but I suddenly feel like Martha Stewart or something. Thank you!!!
Hi Paige,
I’m so happy to hear the rolls have turned out well for you. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Best,
~Jamie